The Best Mountain Towns

BEST MID-SIZED MOUNTAIN TOWN: ROANOKE, VIRGINIA

The city of Roanoke is perfectly located: In the heart of the valley,
with a river running right through town, and adjacent to George
Washington and Jefferson National Forests. Not surprisingly, it's
rapidly gaining a reputation as one of the country's top outdoor
destinations.

From its beginnings as a railroad depot and industry-central town in
southwest Virginia, Roanoke has transformed itself into an outdoor
mecca. Built on the backs of blue-collar, industrious railroad workers,
the city initially did not put much effort into its outdoor
infrastructure because there was never a demand for it. As the
population began to age, young people left in droves after high school,
creating a generation gap. Many saw Roanoke as a quasi-retirement
community.

That began to change in the late 1990s as a group of concerned
citizens made the push for a large system of greenways tracing the
Roanoke River as it flows through downtown. Then in 2007, Roanoke
Outside (RoanokeOutside.com) was created to promote the city as an
outdoors destination, and soon after, Virginia Tech opened its medical
school in the city. These two events had a dramatic effect on the
populace, simultaneously bringing an influx of young professionals and
revealing Roanoke's world-class outdoor offerings.

"Roanoke has started to tout its amazing outdoor assets," says Aaron
Dykstra, owner of 611 Bicycles. "People who work for the city, even if
they don't ride bikes or hike or do anything like that, still support
the outdoors because they know the impact it already has made here."

Dykstra is a case in point. After growing up in Roanoke, he bolted
the city with all of his friends as soon as possible. Following stints
in Chicago and New York, he returned to his hometown to start his
business-611 makes handmade steel bicycle frames in a downtown shop-due
to the low cost of living. As the city has changed, so has his attitude
toward it.

"It's exciting to be a part of it and see the development," he said.
"I certainly take a lot of pride in the fact that every bike that goes
out the door here has a ‘Made in Roanoke' badge on it."

Stratton Delaney, who owns Starlight Bicycles, a bike shop that also
produces custom apparel, says he would not have started a bike shop in
Roanoke 10 years ago. Now his business is thriving, and he credits the
community working together as a whole for the city's changing identity:
everything from the dedication of the parks and recreation department to
the development of downtown living space to the creation of events like
Go Fest and bringing the Banff Mountain Film Festival's Radical Reels
to town.

"It's our community that has made the difference," he said. "You
can't just be a mountain town because you're in mountains. You really
need a community that's going to promote it and get new people out. It
seems like now every other car has a bike or kayak on top."

The outdoor opportunities have been here for decades. The Blue Ridge
Parkway and Appalachian Trail run right outside of town. You can see
McAfee Knob from downtown, and you can ride singletrack on Mill Mountain
right from the greenway and Carvins Cove Natural Reserve is Virginia's
largest conservation easement, holding over 40 miles of multi-use
trails. There's also Douthat State Park, Smith Mountain Lake, and the
New River all within an hour's drive.

Brent Cochran is another Roanoke local who returned after years out
West. He has since helped create farmers markets and local non-profits,
along with a climbing gym integrated into a new residential/commercial
space. He believes all these aspects of the community are connected.

"People are coming here and saying, ‘These are the type of things we
want in a community; we want that work/play lifestyle.' That's driving
the food scene, that's driving the music scene; it all works together.
You don't have one without the other," he said.

You can see it firsthand in the renovated Market Building downtown
where locally sourced food is served at Firefly Fare or in the Carvins
Cove parking lot after a Roanoke Outdoor and Social Club meet up.
Delaney credits outings like communal bike rides every day of the week
and group hikes organized by the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club with
developing a social scene outside of bar hopping for people just moving
to the area.

The city's reinvention over the past five years has been remarkable, and Cochran only sees good things coming in the future.

"Roanoke is definitely having a renaissance," he said.

ROANOKE QUICK HITS

5 minutes

Grab your rod and fish the delayed harvest section of the Roanoke River as it flows downtown; check in with Tom at the Orvis store for info (orvis.com). Bike up local favorite Monument Trail or Big Sunny to the top of Mill Mountain, and don't stop till you hit the star.

15 minutes

Cycle out to the Blue Ridge Parkway and enjoy the
best riding on the East Coast in either direction. Explore Park, right
off the Parkway, has 10 miles of IMBA-built mountain biking trails.

30 minutes

Hop on the A.T. and hike 3.5 miles to the most photographed spot on the entire trail, McAfee Knob. Over 40 miles of trail await hikers, bikers, and trail runners at Carvins Cove, just 20 miles outside downtown.

Hidden Valley: Roanoke is nestled in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Appalachian Trail, and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD MOUNTAIN TOWN?

No concrete criteria exist to quantify what makes a mountain town or
how you achieve such a distinction. Not every town at a high elevation
is a mountain town, but not every mountain town is in the actual
mountains.

So what makes a good mountain town? The simple answer, to quote
Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, is "I know it when I see it." You
can usually tell if that dot on the map has an outdoor culture the
minute you pull into town. Commuters on bikes, runners on a lunchtime
jog, or a full tasting room at the local brewery are all good indicators
you are in the midst of a mountain town paradise. These things are a
big hint that the outdoor lifestyle is central to what makes up the
fabric of a community, but ultimately they are a result and not a cause.

The single most important aspect of a mountain town is, and always
will be, the people. You can have all the open space and money in the
world, but it is the people of any given town that define it as true
mountain town or not. Without a community committed to building the
infrastructure, you are left with just a town in the mountains, not a
mountain town. It is the people that enable a place like Chattanooga to
transform their city from the most polluted in America to the most
progressive; or a sleepy stopover like Damascus, Virginia to become
"Trail Town, USA."

That's the funny thing about outdoor recreation: it takes a
commitment from the people to maintain. Trails need clearing, rivers
need cleaning, and access needs protecting. It would be easy for
Asheville to rest on the laurels of its already robust outdoor
reputation, but the community is constantly striving to improve the
opportunities for its citizens to access the outdoors in any way
possible.

Sure, bike lanes and municipal parks are great-really great-but the
bottom line is these improvements attract the type of person who will
settle in a town and open an independent outdoor outfitter or climbing
hostel. It is this independent, can-do spirit that sustains a mountain
town's economy and infrastructure for decades to come. What makes
mountain towns special is the combination of local governments,
entrepreneurs, conservationists, artists, and local outdoor enthusiasts
working together to maintain their happy little hamlets.